Fears grow over cuts to nature-friendly farming budget

The UK government is facing mounting pressure to clarify its position on the future of nature-friendly farming after reports emerged that the budget for Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes could face deep cuts in the upcoming spending review.

Defra sources told The Guardian that the post-Brexit future farming fund would be severely reduced in the government’s Spending Review on 11 June, amid wider cuts to police, social housing and nature funding.

Labour’s promised £5bn fund for 2024-26 will be honoured, but payments will be slashed thereafter for all but a few farms. The fund rewards farmers for environmental stewardship rather than land ownership and is vital to many farm incomes.

See also: £5.6bn needed to support UK food security, NFU warns

The ELM scheme – central to the previous Conservative government’s post-Brexit vision for sustainable farming – was designed to reward farmers for environmental stewardship. But now, its future is in jeopardy.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw condemned the reported cuts, warning they would be “another blow, not just for farmers and growers, but for the viability of nature-friendly farming and for the environment”.

He added: “If this is a move away from the principle of public money for public environmental goods, it is misjudged. Farms of all sizes have a critical role in delivering for food, nature, and climate.”

Green groups anxious

Environmental groups echoed the NFU’s concerns.

Barnaby Coupe, senior land use policy manager at The Wildlife Trusts, said such cuts “would cripple funding for restoring nature and remove all hope of reaching the government’s targets for wildlife recovery”.

With the £2.5bn annual budget already considered insufficient, Mr Coupe warned that “green markets are only just getting started”, and no alternative funding source could fill the gap.

Alice Groom, head of sustainable land use policy at the RSPB, described the potential cuts as “catastrophic”, saying they would “undermine our long-term food security” and shatter the UK’s credibility on climate and biodiversity.

SFI scheme reach

Defra’s own figures show the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme, the first component of ELM, has supported more than 37,000 farms since 2022, maintaining 75,000km of hedgerows and improving soil health, water quality and biodiversity.

Mr Bradshaw warned that without proper funding, farmers may be forced to choose between environmental work and financial survival.

“Farming is resilient, but if government promises are broken, farmers will be left with tough choices – often at the expense of the environment.”

The NFU is now seeking urgent clarification from Defra. Environmentalists and farmers alike argue that cutting the ELM budget would be a short-sighted move with long-term consequences for food security, nature, and climate resilience.

Farmers Weekly has asked Defra for a response.